SmartyPants Raises $2.2 Million via Crowdfunding

SmartyPants Vitamins, an online vitamin retailer, has secured $2.2 million in funding from a pool of private investors through San Francisco’s CircleUp.

CircleUp is a crowdfunding site that connects investors with startups in the retail and consumer products industries.

The Venice company said it would apply the capital to developing new products and hiring more staff. In all, it has raised $4.7 million since its 2010 launch – all through CircleUp.

Along with the funding announcement, Gordon Gould, co-founder and co-chief executive, said SmartyPants would open an office in Austin, Texas, to be led by Clay Daniels, its new vice president of brand.

Daniels formerly served as the chief creative officer of DadLabs.com, an Austin website that provides parenting tips for fathers.